1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to home automation control including video interphone system for remotely operating AC power switches and electrical devices and appliances via two way IR remote control, fiber optic and light guide cables.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wired or wireless remote control devices including InfraRed (IR) or RF transmitter for remotely operating AC powered electrical appliances such as television receivers, home heaters, air conditioners, motorized curtains, lighting and other electrical appliances in homes, apartments, offices and buildings in general do switch the appliances on-off, with the person operating the remote control device verifying the on or off status of the operated device by visual means, such as the TV is on, or the lights are off, or the aircondition unit is activated or not, by being at the site of the operated appliance. Most of the remote control devices, including IR or wireless remote control devices use the same power key to switch the appliance on and off, therefore without the operating person's self verification on site, with most of currently available remote control devices it is impossible to positively verify the on-off power status without being at the appliance site.
On the other hand home automation relay devices, operated via two way communication signals can update the system controller with the relay's status by a returned status signal. The problem such system represents is the cost for customizing of the AC electrical wiring, which are expensive and require expertise to configure, install and setup. One reason is that the wiring systems that are used for the light's (or other appliances) on-off switches do not require and do not include the neutral wire of the AC mains.
The commonly wired electrical systems provide only two wires for the switches, the AC live or hot wire and the load wire that leads to the light fixture or other appliance. Similar two only traveler wires are used for connecting several switches that are tied up to switch on-off the same light or appliance. The “two only AC wires” with no neutral wire at the switch's electrical box call for changes to the commonly used electrical wiring and thus prevent simple introduction of home automation,
Further, AC power devices that are directly connected to live AC power lines within the buildings must be tested to comply with electrical safety laws, rules and regulation and obtain approval and certification by organizations such as the UL in the USA, VDE or TUV in Europe, BS in the UK and similar organizations in other countries. Moreover, many of the known AC wiring regulations forbid the connecting of the AC wires and low voltage wired control systems inside the same electrical box and/or the connections of AC power wires and low voltage control wires to the same relay, remote switch and/or electrical power devices such as light dimmers. For this reason the remote control circuits of such power switching devices must be structured inside the switch and powered by the AC power.
The significance with remote controlling of home automation systems is the ability to switch electrical appliances on and off remotely via PCs through the Internet, via mobile telephones and/or via other PDA devices. The problem however for such remote controlling is the need for a verified on-off status of the appliances being operated and/or the availability of a status report covering all the remotely controlled appliances of a given house, office, apartment or a building.
Such devices for detecting the on-off status or a standby status is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/874,309 dated Oct. 18, 2007, and IR devices for communicating such on-off or standby statuses via an IR remote control system along with IR remote control devices for operating AC power switches and AC operated appliances are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/939,785 dated Nov. 14, 2007, with the content of both application Ser. Nos. 11/874,309 and 11/939,785, are incorporated herein by reference.
Similarly, such method and apparatuses for integrating remote control devices with video interphone systems and shopping terminals are also disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/024,233 dated Dec. 28, 2004 and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/509,315 dated Aug. 24, 2006.
For all the disclosed and known power switching and control devices, there is a need to access the devices for feeding control signals and retrieving switching status signal. But because of the electrical safety regulations in many countries including the US, it is forbidden to connect a low voltage communication line to an AC power switch or a dimmer inside the same electrical box.
The wireless and IR remote control devices can be used for the two way communications, however for the IR remote control a line of sight is necessary, and in the case of wireless, the signal may not reach devices in other rooms within the residence. This presents an uncertainty in commanding the switching on-off and the verifying of the appliance status and a solid verifiable communication via inter-connections between a low voltage powered control device and an AC power switch or a dimmer is needed.